By: Saliu Gbadamosi | Abuja
THE National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) on Thursday insisted that the deadline for the remittance of 50 percent deposit of 2023 allocation remains February 28, warning that any failure means such affected state(s) will forfeit their allocation or have it reduced.
Moreover, the commission expressed displeasure about cases of Hajj Savings Scheme (HSS) subscribers being discouraged or pressured by some state pilgrims welfare boards to withdraw or migrate their deposits from the scheme to the boards in order to be registered for this year’s hajj.
NAHCON, in a statement signed by Assistant Director, Information and Publications, Mousa Ubandawaki, regretted what it described as abysmal remittance in the past week.
According to the body, remittance to service providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the biggest assurance that Nigeria will participate in this year’s hajj.
The commission added that the February 28 deadline for remittance is to enable it to conclude its arrangements in time so as to avoid lapses.
The statement said: “The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) hereby wishes to restate that the deadline for the remittance of 50 per cent deposit of 2023 allocation remains February 28, failure which the affected state(s) would forfeit their allocation or have it reduced.
“Remittance to the commission in this past week has been abysmal and payment to service providers in Saudi Arabia remains the biggest assurance that Nigeria will participate in this year’s hajj.
“Therefore, it is necessary to kick things off. By our calendar of events, final remittance to the commission should be concluded by February 28 in order to conclude our arrangements on time as we don’t want to give room to lapses.”
The hajj body, therefore, urged state pilgrims welfare boards to not only cooperate with it but also ensure compliance with the directive on the deadline to ensure a successful 2023 hajj.
“We implore the SPWBs to cooperate with us and ensure compliance with the directive in order to make the Hajj 2023 successful.
“While reiterating our commitments to all intending pilgrims to ensure that everyone who paid their fare is registered, we urge the states to respect the agreement on the distribution of hajj quotas on the basis of 60 per cent for government pilgrims and 40 per cent for the Hajj Savings Scheme subscribers,” the statement added.
While frowning on the pressure being mounted on its HSS subscribers to migrate to the state welfare boards, NAHCON declared that it had already allocated 40 percent of this year’s hajj slots to the subscribers.
“The commission is disturbed about cases of Hajj Savings Scheme subscribers being discouraged or pressured to withdraw or migrate their deposits from the scheme to the state board in order to be registered for this year’s hajj.
“It should be emphasised that under the 2023 Hajj policy, 40 per cent of intending pilgrims would be from Hajj Savings Scheme, while 60 percent would be from the government, pay as you go.
“NAHCON will like to assure all the stakeholders that no stone will be left unturned to make sure that the 2023 hajj arrangements and operations are hitch-free,” the commission stated.
